


tenderness

by sushicorps (Inclinant)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Divine Romantic Chocobos, M/M, Noctis your destiny is Prompto, Soul Guides, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 11:16:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15023393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inclinant/pseuds/sushicorps
Summary: “Today, the Chosen King has come of age and stands before you, O Astrals, to call his soul guide to bless him with his soul mark and lead him on his journey.”As he stands before the altar, Noctis prays, prays that his soul guide will be strong. Strong like the behemoths and dragons and wyrms of the kings of yore, strong enough to stand by his journey, strong enough to help Lucis in this never ending war.And then the light fades and a ball of bright yellow feathers bounces off Noctis’ head.Aka, Noctis gets a baby chocobo to guide him to his destiny.





	tenderness

* * *

 

“What do you think Noct’s guide will be?” Gladio nudges Ignis, like Noct isn’t right there beside them.

 

“What if it’s a fish,” Noct suggests, shifting in the seriously scratchy ceremonial royal robes that Ignis had dragged out for him from the bottom of his closet. All three of them have been stuck here in the side room for the past two hours, watching the Head of Rites drone on and on and on about the sanctimony of the ceremony from a live video feed.ò

 

Even his father looks like he’s falling asleep.

 

Then he thinks about it.

 

“How would a fish even _work?_ ”

 

“It could swim in the air,” Ignis points out.

 

Gladio snorts. “I’d like to see a future you holding court with a giant fish behind you.”

 

“I’d like to see Councillor Gaius conduct that tax meeting at seven in the morning with a giant fish in the room,” Noct mutters under his breath, fiddling with his collar and only stopping when Ignis sends a flat look his way. Both of them are dressed in their ceremonial Crownsguard uniforms for the occasion, collars pressed impeccably straight.

 

“Well, statistically,” Ignis pushes up his glasses. “Past kings have usually a great beast as a guide. However, your guide could also be a dog given how Lady Lunafreya’s guide Pryna is one.”

 

A dog. A dog’s great. A dog’s cute, but it’s not exactly Niflheim battling material. Noct knows that there had been some disappointment at Luna’s guide, that the Oracle should summon such mundane (even though it was clearly Astral blessed, glowing eyes and pure white fur) guide and mark.

 

Everyone had guides that would come to them when they came of age to mark them with the mark only their soul’s mate would also bear. But only those of royal blood could summon guides that came to their call, a blessing bestowed to those with a greater call, it was said.

 

“Noct, it’s your cue,” Ignis nudges him, nodding towards where the doors are swinging slowly open to reveal the carpeted walkway up to the altar. The hall is full - filled with Council members and nobility and lucky members of the populace. Behind, cameras fill the hall from end to end.

 

Across the temple hall, Noctis can see his father standing, nodding in approval as he slowly steps up to scale the grand steps to the guide altar. Luna had done this once, back in Tenebrae, and to be graced with Pryna, he thinks and takes a deep breath.

 

He strides forth, burying the apprehension beneath a royal front, as Ignis and Gladio fall in step behind him.

“Today, the Chosen King has come of age and stands before you, O Astrals, to call his soul guide to mark him and lead him on his journey.”

As he stands before the altar, Noctis prays, prays that his soul guide will be strong. Strong like the behemoths and dragons and wyrms of the kings of yore, strong enough to stand by his journey, strong enough to help Lucis in this never ending war.

 

And then the light fades and a ball of bright yellow feathers bounces off Noctis’ head.

 

* * *

 

 

There must have been a million reporters at the site or something because Noctis can feel his head still spinning from the camera flash even as he stands with Gladio and Ignis and stares at the….

 

The chocobo. The baby chocobo who is a glaringly bright yellow and a ball of messy feathers sticking up all over the place.

 

It rightens itself, little wings flapping as it gets to its feet and then with a loud kweh that echoes through the entire hall which has been stunned to silence, falls over on its face again.

 

The Head of Rites looks completely flabbergasted.

 

Noct just stares at the chocobo. At the back of his mind, he knows that after the summoning, the guide will bestow a soul’s mark upon their charge but-

 

The chocobo flutters to its feet again, but this time there’s a determined note in its kweh and it flaps its wings wildly as it suddenly propels itself in Noct’s direction.

 

And promptly proceeds to headbutt Noct off the altar.

 

* * *

 

 

So not only does Noct have a damn chocobo for a guide, he has a soulmark in the shape of a chocobo stamped right across his stomach.

 

Also a massive headache and bruises where he had fallen down the stairs with a distressed baby chocobo bouncing after him, captured on live fucking tv. He wants to bury his face in his pillows, but he can’t because there’s a baby chocobo fluffing up its feathers quite happily _on his pillow._

 

“Well,” Ignis starts, pushing his glasses up and folding his arms. “You should count yourself lucky. It could’ve gone a lot worse if the chocobo had hit just a little lower.”

 

Noct blinks, then groans as Gladio snorts, clapping a hand to his thigh in laughter.

 

“Anyway...in light of this recent turn of events, I must say that this does impact the plans for our trip to Altissia for Noct’s wedding. And there is also the matter of Lady Lunafreya’s...mark,” Ignis begins but Noct sighs, irritably.

 

“Can we just focus on one problem at a time?”

 

“...Alright. The scientists and guide scholars have checked out the guide. It is definitely a chocobo. Apparently about two months hatched too.”

 

“So it’s a baby chocobo,” Gladio remarks, but the edges of his lips are already curving up and he can’t quite hide the laughter behind his words.

 

Noctis elbows his Shield and scowls. “Shut up. What am I going to do with a chocobo?”

 

This was nothing at all like the soul guides in the history books. Nothing at all like his father’s own guide, a mighty wyrm that appears when summoned and sometimes patrols the perimeter of the wall. Nothing at all like the Kings of yore with their ability to call on the Six and the Astral’s own blessed creatures, of mighty dragons that froze any enemies who dared raise their hand against Lucis, of behemoths that tore apart raging armies.

 

“I’d like to see it headbutt the Nif armies.”

 

“Gladio!” Ignis chides, then turns to Noct. “Maybe you could train it to ride it when it gets older.”

 

“Yeah, maybe,” Noct can’t even bring himself to laugh. He frowns at the chocobo, which seems to have fallen asleep. It’s strange to think that someone somewhere was marked by a chocobo yesterday too. It’s strange to think that the Astrals have decided that person, whoever that person is, to be meant for him instead of Luna.

 

He wonders if Luna has known this all along.

  
Reaching out a hand, he gingerly pokes the baby chocobo. It’s soft, bright yellow baby feathers downy and fluffy.

 

“Why isn’t it going away though?”

 

Guides don't stick around, they're not supposed to. They come in a dramatic flash of light and make a whole show out of giving you the mark that'll lead you to your soulmate's matching mark, completely ignoring the fact that it is totally impractical and often nigh high impossible to find a matching mark. Clearly no one thought about the logistical difficulties of this all. They're supposed to only come once, if they even come at all. Most people just wake up to find a mark on them overnight or something because their guide was lazy to do the whole theatrics.

 

Royalty have it a bit easier, but even then, they have to call upon their soul guides to come.

 

They certainly don't _stick around._

 

Ignis frowns. “It could be that your guide is meant to guide you on your journey to Altissia.”

 

“You’re _kidding._ You’re kidding right?!”

 

* * *

 

The sun is unrelenting as Noct stands on the Citadel stairs, wishing to be off and away as fast as he can.

 

His father’s hand is heavy on his shoulder.

 

“Walk tall, my son,” He says and the chocobo atop his head gives a happy kweh in reply, making Regis laugh.

 

“Perhaps not that tall.”

 

Noct groans. “ _Dad_. Cut it out, I’ll be fine, even with this stubborn thing sticking around.”

 

They pile into the Regalia - Ignis taking the wheel, Gladio in the back and Noct in the front seat, baby chocobo atop his head, resolutely staring ahead as the car pulls away from the kerb.

 

He’s going to Luna and Luna will know more about this, more about why his soul guide is what it is...and maybe more about this soulmate that he has out there. Maybe then Noct can figure out what he can do to play his part in protecting Lucis...because Astral knows this damn chocobo won’t be of any use.

 

It’s like the Astrals are playing a colossal joke on him.

 

They’re cruising along the main highway out of the city when the siren cuts through the air.

 

At least the police officer does look incredulously at the chocobo when he stops their car.

  
“A safety violation’s a safety violation sir, I’m sorry your highness.”

 

* * *

 

There’s a soft black ball of feathers following him.

 

It takes one, two shaky steps before falling over with a sad, soft cry.

 

He had touched it, just once.

 

It had been warm as it nuzzled up against his stomach, the sides still aching from the blows that’d landed in training. He had never really been good at close combat and the instructor had been angry that he couldn’t follow the instructions perfectly again. But he had been trying his best.

 

It had been nice when the animal had curled up against him though, a pleasant warmth that had spread across his stomach and distracted him from the pain.

 

But he doesn’t know why it is following him, it can’t be authorised, not in these parts where it’s all just machines and MTs and the guards.

 

He rushes down the corridor, ducks behind a turn and then peers back, hoping with all he can that it is an illusion, or that it is not, because even he knows Phase 2 MTs can get hallucinations and every MT that gets hallucinates are designated for termination.

 

But it also sounds sad, and he knows it's because it shouldn’t be here. It belongs outside, not in the cold, but in the warm places in the sun and blue skies that he hears the human guards talk about sometimes.

 

He wants to go back and pick it up again, but he doesn’t want to get terminated.

 

He needs to return to his pod soon - the guards will be coming by to do the checks in ten minutes. He will get in trouble if he’s not back in his pod again - but it’s always so...small, and cramped, and suffocating. He hates it.

 

The creature makes another small sound, high-pitched and keening. Down the hall, there’s a steady thump of boots, the steel-capped ones that the guards wear.

They’ll shoot it, he knows, or maybe it’s all a hallucination and they’ll shoot him instead. The heart they had always scolded him for believing he had is pounding furiously in his ears right now.

The footsteps grow louder and he makes a decision, sweeping the creature up in his arms and slipping through a door into a service corridor. The air is harsh with chemicals and the cold makes his fingers shiver through the thin undersuit, but if he curls around the little creature, it’s warm.

They’ll find him tomorrow morning, but for now, at least this one is safe.

And he doesn’t know why, but he feels safe too.

It’s nice, this feeling. Like there’s someone out there, coming for him. Just for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeahhh sorry Noct it’s really Prom’s fault that your chocobo wound up headbutting you in the stomach for your mark. This is partially inspired from the Soulmate Goose trope, except here a divine romantic chocobo comes by to give our two boys their matched marks.
> 
> Wanted to get this out for Promptis fanweek (Soulmate prompt, who is surprised? Absolutely no one!). 
> 
> Oneshot for now and will edit after I repay my sleep debt.
> 
>  
> 
> find me on [tumblr](http://sushicorps.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/sushicorps/)


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